Double bed couch construction



W. B. FOSTER DOUBLE BED COUCH CONSTRUCTION Sept. 12, 1933.

Filed Dec. 19, 1932 INVENTOR William E .FosTer ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 12, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Foster Brothers Manufacturing Company,

Utica, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 19, 1932 Serial N9. 647,870

2 Claims. (c1. 1s)

This invention relates to a double bed couch construction wherein two separately supported and independent bed sections can be brought to closed position one above the other so as to form 6 a couch.

The purpose of my present invention is to provide a double bed couch of new and simplified construction and particularly to provide in combination with such a; double bed couch construc tion simple but effective spacing hooks for stopping the outward movement of the movable bed section when said movable section has been moved to its proper outward position to form with the other bed section two properly spaced bed sections; and preferably to have said spacing hooks co-operatively connected so that both hooks may be disconnected by a person standing at one end of the double bed when it is desired to use the two sections as separate beds, that is spaced farther apart, or in a different position than for a regular double bed.

Further purposes and advantages of the invention will appear from the specification and claims herein.

Fig. l is an endview of a double bed couch embodying this invention with the sections in extended position and with parts of the higher and movable bed section 10 broken away in order to show the construction more clearly.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of said construction with the bed sections closed to form a couch, certain parts of the higher section being broken away to disclose details of the mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the forward part of the lower bed section and the rear part of the higher bed section and of the spacing hooks and the rock shaft carrying said hooks, said parts being in the position they occupy.when the bed sections are in extended position and held in spaced relation by said hooks; said view being of the parts as they appear'when seen from below.

Fig. 4 is a similar perspective view of the latch for holding the two sections in closed position.

Referring to the drawing in a more particular description, it will be seen that a double bed couch construction embodying th s invertion comprises a higher and longer bed section 10 which in the construction here shown is and 50 preferably will be regularly the outer section and a shorter and lower bed section 11 herein illustrated as the relatively fixed or inner section and two spacing hooks 12 pivotally connected to the forward corners of the inner or lower bed section and co-operating projections 13 upon the rear corners of the front section and adapted to be engaged by said spacing hooks when the outer or movable section 10 has been drawn out to its outward or double bed position.

The higher and longer bed section 10 which is in the drawing also shown and herein described as being the movable section, consistsof a framework formed of a front rail 14 and a back rail 15 connected by end bars 16. From the four corners of this frame there extend downwardly legs 17 preferably formed of angle iron and supporting at their lower ends anti-friction wheels 18 conveniently mounted in U-shaped brackets 19 which in turn are secured in the angle of the respective legs. Conveniently this structure is braced by angularly disposed front and back braces 20 and 21 respectively extending from the end bar 16v downwardly at an angle and fastened at their lower ends to the front and back legs 17-47. Preferably the front legs 17 are also 7 connected part way down by a front horizontal brace 22. The back of this higher bed section 10, however, is left open; that is without any diagonal braces or horizontal rails beneath the single back rail 15 in order to give opportunity for clos- 30 ing the bed sections without lifting either one from the floor but simply by relative transverse movement of said sections. Assuming that as shown in the drawings the higher bed section is the one equipped with the anti-friction members 35 upon its legs, the structure here shown will be closed by the higher and movable bed section 10 being rolled backwardly relative to the fixed bed section 11 until the movable section has housed therewithin and thereunder the said lower and shorter bed section.

The bed section 11 is conveniently formed of a front side rail 23, a back rail 24.and opposite end rails 25 forming a rectangular frame at the corners of which are secured the depending legs 26 all of said parts being conveniently formed of angle iron of the pi apersize and character. This section is the lower section and also the shorter section of the two; that is this section 11 is lower than the bottom of the back rail 15 of the front or higher section. The vertical clearance is sufficient, even allowing for the relatively flat link or slat fabric supporting surface 27 placed upon the frame-work of the lower section and the similar relatively flat slat or link fabric supporting surface 28 secured to the rectangular frame of the higher section 10. Also the bed section 11 has its front and rear side rails; 23 and 24 somewhat shorter than the space left between the inner edges of the longitudinally extending webs 29 of 0 the rear legs 17 of the front bed section 10 sothat the whole lower and shorter section may be housed beneath the higher section by said higher section moving transversely of the couch and backward relative to the lower section. Preferably the lower ends of the legs 26 of the lower and shorter bed section 11 will be provided with floor-engaging friction pads-30 of rubber orthe like. Ordinarily also the lower bed section will have angularly arranged braces 31 at its forward corners and similar angularly arranged braces 32 at its rearward corners.

Swingingly mounted on a vertical axis at each forward corner of the lower bed section 11 there will be-provided a spacing hook 12.' Preferably and conveniently the spacing hooks will be pivotally mounted and operatively connected together by being formed as the integral ends of a rock shaft 33 extending almost the full length of the lower section and pivotally mounted thereon near'the upper forward corners conveniently by being mounted in apertures 34 provided in the vertical web 35 of the forward end of theend rails 25 just forward of the forward legs 26 of the lower section 11. M

A convenient method of forming this rock shaft with the spacing hooks secured thereto at its opposite ends is to use a long round metallic rod of the proper size and length so as to provide the rock shaft portion proper 33 extending for almost the full length of the floor section and then to bend the ends of said rods at each end so as to provide the crank arm portion 36 extending at right angles from the rock shaft 33 and at the extremity of these arms a short hook 37 extending at right angles to the arm 36 and also preferably about at a right angle to the length of the rock shaft 33. It will now be seen that when the two bed sections are in housed position as seen in Fig. 2 the arm portions 36 of these spacing hooks will hang substantially straight down and the short hooks 37 at their v lower ends will point backwardly. As the higher and movable section 10 is drawn forward from the relatively fixed lower section 11 there will be no movement of these spacing hooks until the rear legs of the front section come about into line with t e arm portions 36 of the spacing hook 12. At that time the longitudinally extending short projections 13 will engage the downwardly hanging arms-36 and swing them outward as further outward motion of the movable bed section occurs until the movable section comes to its proper outward position as shown in Fig. 1 at which point further outward mo, ment of said section will be arrested by the hook 37 of said spacing hooks engaging. the forward part of the projections 13. Of course if one end of the forward section has not been moved out as fast as theother end the delayed end will continueits outward movement until it also is postively arrested by the spacing hook at its end of the couch. The parts will then be in the position clearly indicated in the perspective view Fig. 3 or in the end view Fig. 1. It will be understood that ordinarily the higher bed section 11 will have more or less permanently secured thereto a cushion or mattress 38 resting on top of the link or slat fabric 28. When the device is used as a couch a separate and loose cushion 39 will rest on top of the mattress 38 as indicated in full lines in Fig. 1.' When the bed sections have been extended to form a double bed the cushion 39 will be moved or turned over to rest upon the supporting surface 27 of the lower bed section 11 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. Preferably the separate or loose cushion 39 will be enough thicker than the fixed mattress or pad 38 so as to bring the upper surface of said loose cushion substantially the same level as the top surface of the cushion 38. It will be seen also by comparing Figs. 1 and 2- that the separate cushion 39 is of the same width as the higher section 10 and its attached mattress 38 so that when this cushion is placed over upon the lower section as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 the said loose cushion will cover the full width of the lower section and also the narrow space be tween the two bed sections. 3

When it is desired to close up the structure from a double bed to a couch the loose cushion 39 will be moved over on top of the thin fixed mattress 38 and the forward section 10 will be rolled back over the lower section 11. The spacing hooks will not interfere with this rearward movement and will not need to be manipulated by hand in any way as they will fall of their own weight to the position shown in Fig. 2.

If, however, it is desired to use the two bed sections as entirely separated narrow beds the" higher section will be drawn out to extended position and then the two spacing books 12 will be manually detached from the higher section by temporarily raising either one of the hooks to about the dotted line position shown there over in Fig. 1. A person standing at either end of the double bed may raise one of these hooks by hand and thereby will effect a raising of the other hook on account of both hooks being rigidprojections from the same rock shaft. The movable section may then be moved forward to be clear of the spacing hooks and then either bed section may be moved about as desired as a separate bed. 7

In order to avoid the accidental separation of the two bad sections when they are in closed position the spring-controlled latch 40 is provided. The construction of this latch and its rela-' tive position with regard to the two sections is illustrated in the perspective view Fig. 4. Conveniently the latch is pivotally mounted by pin 41 upon a short bracket 42 extending downwardly from the front rail 14 of the front section to the front horizontal brace 22 of said front section. The latch projects rearwardly and at its rear end has an upwardly and forwardly slanting cam surface 43 leading to a forwardly facing hook 44. A spring 45 bears against the latch so as to normally but yieldingly hold its rearward end upward in. approximately horizontal position. As the movable f section is moved rearward to closed position the cam surface 43 of the latch comes into camming engagement with the lower edge 46 of the front rail 23 of the rear or lower bed section. The rear end of the latch is thereby depressed against the tension of the spring 45 until the cam surface rides past the said front rail 23 whereupon the latch moves upward under the impulse of said spring and the forwardly facing hook 44 engages an inner surface of the rail 23 and thereby holds the two sections in closed position. When it'is desired to move the sections to separated position the operator pulls the latch 40 downward by grasping the lower end of a chain 47 hanging down from the said latch to the rear of its pivoting pin 41 and pulls downward on said chain enough to temporarily disengage the hook 44 from the rail 23 whereupon the forward section may be started outwardly. As soon as the forward section has been wheels at the bottom of its legs and the other or shorter bed section is the relatively fixed section by reason of having the friction pads 30 at the bottom of its legs. It will be understood, however, that this is simply for deflniteness and convenience in description as it will be obvious that the shorter and lower bed section may be the movable one by being provided with antifriction wheels and that the higher and longer section may be the relatively fixed section as by its feet being provided with friction pads. The operation of the two sections and the operation of the spacing hooks and the locking latch will be the same in this modification and a detailed description or further illustration thereof is deemed unnecessary.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: -c

1. A double bed couch comprising two complete independent bed sections each having a frame, legs and a supporting surface, one of said sections being lower and shorter than the other and adapted to be housed thereunder or to be located therebeside by relative transverse movement of the sections, a pair of rigidly connected movably mounted spacing hooks located at the corners of the entering side of the lower section and projections aligned therewith and located at the opposite corners of the entered side of the higher section, said hooks automatically coming into engagement with said projections when the sections are moved to extended position and preventing the sections from being moved farther apart but adapted to be both disengaged from said projections by disengaging either hook whereby the two bed sections may be entirely separated.

2. A double bed couch comprising two complete independent bed sections each having a frame,

legs and a supporting surface, one of said sections being lower and shorter than the other and adapted to be housed thereunder or to be located therebeside by relative transverse movement of the sections, a longitudinally extending rock shaft mounted in the upper part of the entering side of the lower section, an arm rigidly projecting from said shaft at each end thereof outside the adjacent legs and normally hanging downwardly, a hook at the outer end of each arm pointing inwardly of the section when the arms hang down and a projection at each corner of the entered side of the higher section, said projections being in alignment with said arms and coming into engagement therewith and swinging them outwardly and upwardly as the two sections are moved towards extended position and said hooks coming into holding engagement with said pro- Jections as the sections come to spaced extended position, further raising of either of said arms operating to disengage both hooks whereupon the sections may be moved farther apart to be entirely separated.

WILLIAM B. FOSTER. 

